


The Leader of the Bunch!

by Gears112, phantomthief_fee



Series: Drew World [6]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Aftermath, Bendy's a cinnamon roll, Bonding, Gen, Joey's an ass, Missing Loved Ones, Shawn is being reminded how Wally could be handsy with Boris, Worrying about boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-17 16:02:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13662420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gears112/pseuds/Gears112, https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: After the events of "Welcome Back Friend", everyone tries to recover and figure out Joey's plan, while Joey himself prides himself on bring the darling demon to life!





	1. Chapter 1

....

The next morning Alice was pacing in the employee break room, waiting for everyone to return. Murray was able to pull some strings and created an employee ID for Henry as ‘assistant financial director’ Mike Moodly, which would let him into the park before it opened. She looked up as she saw a tired looking Nancy and Cordelia entered. The angel leapt and wrapped her arms around the two.

“You came back!!” Nancy chuckled.

“Course we did, Joey owes me a pay raise and I owe him two black eyes.” Nancy said. “And Dee’s going to give him the gift of ‘foot where the sun don’t shine’.” Alice raised an eyebrow as Cordelia shook her head, chuckling tiredly. “Had to pry her away from the waiting room…Joshua will still be there recovering when we get off work.”

“How can you be so sure?” Cordelia asked softly going to make some coffee.

“Cause if he died, I’d bring him back and kill him again.” Cordelia nearly dropped her cup as Alice’s jaw dropped as Nancy shrugged nonchalantly. “He knows the rules. He ain’t dying on us.” Cordelia blinked slowly as Henry came down, followed by Shawn. “Morning fellas.”

“Mornin’...”

“Alice~” Boris came down the hall, all but clinging to Shawn. “Guess what Mr. Drew told me~” Alice fought to hide her fear as she smiled.

“What?”

“Bendy’s here!!” Everyone looked at Boris.

“W-What?” Boris nodded.

“Yeap~ Bendy’s here and Joey’s gonna introduce him when we open~” Boris exclaimed, blissfully unaware of the shocked looks. He looked at Henry. “Who are you Mr?”

“Um, Mike, I just started today…” Henry said and Boris nodded.

“Glad to meet you!! You’re going to have a great time here!!” 

“Can ya get off of me?” Shawn growled and Boris slowly got off, confused why the man seemed so uncomfortable with him being cuddly and friendly.

“O...kay…”

.

* * *

 

.

“How are you feeling Bendy?” Joey asked softly, gently as the demon wiggled his feet as he sat on a bench.

“Weird.” Joey nodded.

“I see...I’ll have to check with Murray on that, but are you feeling up to meeting all the boys and girls?” Bendy looked up at Joey with a big grin.

“Of course Papa Drew!!” Bendy hopped off the bench and twirled. “I can’t wait to see everyone~” Joey chuckled, getting a sick kick out of seeing the darling demon being a stark contrast to the person he used for this, albeit quickly rushed, ritual.

“Same here Bendy, same here….”


	2. Chapter 2

Murray jumped when Joey slammed his door open. For a moment, he thought his boss might have found out about his deception. But Joey was grinning ear to ear, a big genuine smile. So Murray relaxed, just a little bit. 

“Heya, Boss.” He forced himself to smile as well. “You look happy.”

“Oh, I am.” Joey swept in, wrapping an arm around Murray’s shoulder. “Because I finally managed it! I’ve brought Bendy to life!” It was then that Murray realized Sammy hadn’t been with the group when he’d summoned them back from Joey’s underground layer. How had he missed that? Well, he had been rather...out of it. An icy lump developed in his stomach and it took everything for him to keep smiling. 

“Hiya Mister Murray!” Bendy popped into the room. His eyes were the wrong colour and he was a bit thinner than Bendy was supposed to be, but otherwise, he was perfect. 

“You actually did it.” Murray tried to keep his smile in place as his heart pounded. “What poor sap did you use to anchor him? Henry?”

“That’s who I was hoping to get.” Joey’s expression momentarily soured. “I had to settle for Sammy because someone teleported Henry away.”

“Wonder who that could have been.” Murray kept his gaze firmly on Bendy, who was looking around the mechanic’s office. 

“I do wonder.” Joey’s grip on Murray’s shoulder tightened. “You would tell me if it were you, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course, sir.” Murray nodded. “I would never betray you.”

“Good man.” Joey slapped his back. “Now, Bendy isn’t quite taking to his new body, so I was hoping you’d be able to strengthen the bonds.”

“I’m a bit drained at the moment, so maybe I could do it later?” Murray said. For a moment, Joey’s expression grew dark. But it immediately bounced back. 

“Of course, of course. I wouldn’t want to completely drain you of your magic!” Joey laughed and slapped Murray’s back again. 

“Papa Drew, I’m bored,” Bendy whined. “Can I go meet everyone now?”

“Of course, my child.” Joey held out his hand and Bendy took it, the two of them waltzing out of Murray’s office. As soon as Joey was gone, Murray let out a sigh of relief. He wanted to go tell everyone about this but figured they’d learn about it soon enough.

 

In fact, they did. Nancy, Cordelia, Henry, and the toons were getting ready to open the park when they heard Joey approaching. Nancy looked at Henry, who nodded and made an excuse about needing to go see Grant. 

“Aw. Bye, Mr Mike~” Boris waved as Henry quickly beat a hasty retreat. Cordelia was trying her best not to have a panic attack. She and Nancy hadn’t seen Sammy since the other night and they were beginning to fear the worst. A moment later, Joey appeared with Bendy at his side. Bendy’s eyes immediately lit up when he saw Boris, and he ran over and threw himself onto the wolf. 

“Boris!” He exclaimed. “Man, it’s so good to see you!”

“It’s great to see you too, Ben!” Boris grinned from ear to ear. “Alice and I really missed you!”

“Why does he look funny?” Alice whispered. The same realization that had dawned on Murray now dawned on Nancy and Cordelia. This new Bendy had to be Sammy. Nancy’s hands formed fists at her sides, her whole body shaking. Joey smiled towards them, almost as if he was daring Nancy to make a scene. Once Bendy and Boris were done hugging, Bendy waltzed up to Alice. 

“Angel Face.” He winked at her. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It’s good to see you too, Bendy.” Alice smiled despite herself. It did feel good to have Bendy back, but she knew it wasn’t really Bendy. It was some poor person who’d been turned into Bendy. 

“And who’re these guys?” Bendy turned his attention to Nancy and Cordelia. 

“I’m Cordelia Bell. It’s nice to meet you.” Cordelia curtsied or at least tried. 

“Nancy,” Nancy said, her words short and clipped. “Nancy Lawrence.” Bendy frowned slightly as he looked them over. 

“Have we...met before?” He asked. “You dames seem familiar.”

“I mean, it’s always possible,” Cordelia said just as Joey said,

“You must be imagining things, Bendy.” Joey narrowed his eyes, giving Cordelia a dirty look. Cordelia smiled sheepishly, her hands folded behind her back. No one could see her hands were clenched so tightly in fists that she was drawing blood. Nancy was doing something rather similar. 

“Are you two okay?” Alice whispered. 

“You don’t look so good, Ben.” Boris’ brow furrowed and he knelt beside the little demon. Bendy almost seemed to be sweating. 

“Why don’t we practice your routine?” Joey took Bendy’s hand, whisking him away from the reminders of his past life. Once Joey was gone, Nancy let out a frustrated scream, turning and kicking at the building. 

“What’s wrong?” Boris asked, suddenly very confused. “Why are you screaming?”

“He turned my brother into a fucking cartoon!” Nancy screamed. 

“B-But that’s not Sammy.” Boris shook his head. “T-That’s Bendy. He can’t be Sammy. Joey wouldn’t just turn someone into a cartoon against their will.”

“He already did it with you,” Cordelia muttered, her expression darkening. 

“W-With...me?” Boris asked. For a moment, he looked dumbstruck. 

“Bo? Are you going to be alright?” Alice immediately rushed to his side, putting her hands on Boris’ shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. Boris’ body began to get a bit melty as he held his head in his hands. 

“We should take him to Hill,” Nancy suggested. They managed to smuggle Boris across the park and into Murray’s office. Both Boris and Murray were looking a little worse for wear when they arrived at the office. 

“Hill!” Nancy yelled, slamming the door open. 

“We have a bit of a problem.” Alice smiled apologetically. Boris was whimpering, pulling on his ears. Cordelia quickly closed the door behind them, ushering everyone deeper into the office. 

“Well fuck me sideways,” Murray muttered, running a hand through his hair. 

“That’s not a nice word,” Alice whispered. “We’re not allowed to say that word.”

“Right. Sorry.” Murray exhaled slowly. 

“Please, we need your help,” Cordelia begged. “He’s in pain.” 

“I know. I know.” Murray nodded. He was starting to regret going against Joey. It would be harder to undo the enchantment on Boris than it would be to just strengthen it. He stripped off his gloves and held out his hands. 

“Keep him still.” He said. “This is going to hurt.”

It took about an hour to break the enchantment. By the end of it, everyone was crying, sweating, covered in ink, and completely worn out. Wally laid on the floor, his breathing shallow and feverish. Murray collapsed into his chair, putting his gloves back on. 

“Okay, it’s done.” He said. It was then that Henry walked in. He looked at everyone and then down at Wally. 

“Okay.” Henry exhaled slowly. “Should I...get someone?” 

“Please.” 


	3. Chapter 3

.....

“Those dames are kinda strange Papa Drew…” Bendy said, looking up to Joey, who nodded as they walked back to the man's office. 

“Yes, they are a tad strange.” Joey admitted. “And I must admit the Nancy girl isn’t the most...appropriate influence on Alice, nor on Ms. Bell...but her ability to fend off the more unsavory of guest is needed….” He muttered that more to himself as Bendy looked around. He looked at Bendy. “What do you think would be an appropriate resolution?” Bendy looked at him in surprise.

“W-What?”

“What do you think we should do with this possible temptation?” Joey repeated. “I mean while she is an asset in protecting Alice...she isn’t the best example of what I want to show to the world.” Bendy frowned as he crossed his arms, thinking.

“Maybe she can talk to one of the Creators?” Bendy asked. “Um….like maybe she’s distracted by something at home and needs to talk to somebody?” Joey nodded slowly, scratching his chin and cleverly hiding the grin growing on his face.

“That might work…”

.

* * *

 

.

“Nugh…”

“Come on Franks,” Nancy grunted, carrying Wally over her shoulder. “We’ve got to get you to the hospital.”

“M kay...Sammy…” Nancy pursed her lips as she and Henry made it to the employee gate. The security guy looked up from his computer.

“Hey, Nancy, you’re needed at the main office.” Nancy raised an eyebrow. “One of the Creator guys wants to talk to you…” She rolled her eyes.

“Probably about that guy I punched…” The security guard shrugged before seeing Wally. “Look, he’s got to get to a hos-”

“I’ll take Wally,” Henry said. “Just be careful.” He took Wally and Nancy nodded.

“Will do,”

.

* * *

 

.

“I do hope Wally is alright,” Alice whispered to Cordelia as they two of them walked around the park. Cordelia nodded.

“Him and Joshua too…” Alice looked at Cordelia.

“He’s not your brother though…” Cordelia went a shade of red as she coughed.

“Ah, well, he’s a friend of mine…” Alice raised an eyebrow.

“A friend hmm?” Cordelia looked panickingly around for a distraction before she stopped Nancy walking towards the main offices.

“Oh hey! Nancy!” Cordelia said quickly grabbing the woman’s attention. “Where are you heading?”

“Apparently, I’ve got to talk to one of those Creator people…” Nancy sighed and Alice’s eyes widened.

“W-What?!” Nancy shrugged.

“Yeah, I can only assume they’re not happy I punched a guy…” Nancy said and Alice gulped, paling; seeing a Creator wasn’t a good thing. “I’ll either get fired or get a warning slip or something….”

“I want to go with you!” Alice said firmly. “I-I want to make sure that you’re ok.” Nancy and Cordelia exchanged nervous looks, wondering what else was going on behind the scenes at the park.

“Well...ok then...if you really want to…then let’s get going…”


	4. Chapter 4

Nancy, Cordelia, and Alice headed for the office of one of the Creators. Nancy wasn’t particularly worried, but Alice and Cordelia were, especially knowing that Joey probably wanted the two women out of the way. Cordelia was shaking the entire way over. Alice tried to calm her down, but she was shaking as well. Now that she knew that Joey wasn’t the friendly father figure she’d believed he was, she was practically hysterical. She didn’t know what Joey was capable of anymore. 

“You two should calm down. It’s going to be fine.” Nancy said. “This isn’t going to be a big deal. I might get a warning slip or I could get fired. This kind of thing happens.” 

“But Joey obviously doesn’t want us around Bendy.” Cordelia gnawed on her lip. “We remind him of who he really is.”

“I don’t want bad things to happen to you two.” Alice said, starting to sniffle a bit. “Who knows what he might do to you!” Nancy pursed her lips. Well, they weren’t wrong. But if Joey was going to get rid of anyone, it would be her. She knew Joey hardly approved of her. He’d offered her a job, sure, but she knew she didn’t fit with his whole image. 

“Nothing bad’s going to happen,” Nancy assured them, the lie slipping easily off of her tongue. It didn’t take long for them to get to the main office and go in. The office was dark. This, immediately, was a bad sign. Alice clung to Cordelia’s arm harder. 

“Hello?” Nancy called. “Greg said someone wanted to talk to me!”

“We need to leave. Now.” Cordelia backed up. The door was slammed shut behind them, and they suddenly realized that they weren’t alone.

“I’m very sorry about this, Miss Lawrence.” A voice came from behind them. Before the three women could react, they were all being restrained. Alice and Cordelia were held back while Nancy was being tied up. 

“Throw her in with Campbell.” They heard Joey saying from the darkness. “Those two are due for a chat.” Then rags were placed over their mouths and everything went black. 

When they woke up, they were in the infirmary. Nancy was nowhere to be found. One of the nurses walked over, smiling placatingly. 

“You girls must’ve had a nasty fall.” She said. 

“Where’s Nancy?” Cordelia sat up and immediately regretted it. Her head was throbbing. Reaching up, she found a nasty bruise on the back of her head. 

“Nancy?” The nurse frowned. “What are you talking about? She wasn’t with you when James found you.” Alice just burst into tears, holding onto Cordelia’s arm and sobbing into her cardigan. 

“What’s wrong?” The nurse asked, looking genuinely concerned. “Did you have a fight with Nancy?”

“J-Joey had her kidnapped!” Alice sobbed.

“Mr Drew had her...kidnapped.” The nurse nodded slowly. “Sweetie, just how hard did you hit your head?” Cordelia gritted her teeth and smiled disarmingly. 

“We’re both still a little out of it.” She said. “I’ll take her back to her room so she can rest.” Alice stared at her, dumbfounded, as Cordelia gingerly got up and gently guided Alice out of the room. 

“W-Why did you lie?” Alice asked, her lip quivering. 

“No one’s going to believe us if we tell them what happened.” Cordelia’s expression grew stony and determined. “Joey’s public image as a fatherly figure is too strong. If we want to fix this, we need to do it ourselves.”

“But what if we can’t do it?” Alice started to sniffle, threatening to burst into tears again. “What if Joey does bad things to us?”

“He won’t hurt you,” Cordelia assured her. “You’re one of his babies. He would never hurt his babies.”

“But what about you?”

Cordelia pursed her lips. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“No!” Alice stopped walking and stamped her foot. “You don’t get to be self-sacrificing! Your brother would be real mad if you didn’t come back!” Cordelia stopped as well, blinking for a moment. Then she started to laugh softly. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She smiled and shook her head. 

“We’ll get Henry to help.” Alice nodded definitively. “Maybe Mr Hill too.” 

“Sounds good,” Cordelia said. “But for now, we need to rest.” 

“Okay.” Alice took her hand again and they headed for the toons’ break area. 


	5. Chapter 5

....

Nancy groaned lightly as she felt herself being poked in the face.

“Ngh...I don’t ‘member drinkin’...” She slurred her words as she opened her eyes. She bit back a scream as staring back at her was an all too familiar face staring at her, a black gloved hand right at her face.

“This is what he sends to appease me?” Susie asked before scoffing. “A mere priestess? Pfft, shows what good he is…at least a minstrel would provide entertainment...” Nancy wondered for a moment why Susie wasn’t trying to kill her before it clicked; Susie had only seen the tattoo before she attacked her, after all if she wanted her dead, she would’ve attacked when she first stormed the stage. Nancy sighed with a bit of relief before frowning; still, she was stuck with nuttier-than-a-fruitcake Susie. She sighed in defeat.

“No way to win…” She mumbled and Susie looked at her.

“You...I know you...don’t I?” Nancy nodded slowly.

“Uh...yeah…” Nancy started to say before realizing that if Susie was so desperate to think she was Alice, then why not humor the woman? Worst case scenario, she was going to have to explain to Sammy why she knocked out his ex girlfriend. At the thought of brother, however, Nancy teared up; her brother was still trapped as a cartoon character. She curled up into herself and struggled to not burst into tears, eventually sobbing silently. Susie blinked slowly, confused by the woman’s actions before frowning to herself; even if this girl wasn’t what she wanted as an apology, she was Alice Angel and damnit, she made people happy and that wasn’t going to stop now! Susie awkwardly came closer to Nancy before she starting humming to the girl, trying to help her calm down, a vague memory tugging at the back of her mind of doing this a few times before.

.

* * *

 

.

“What’s that?” Alice asked as there was a buzzing sound. Cordelia looked up and checked the locker she and Nancy were sharing, seeing it was Nancy’s phone ringing. She saw the caller ID as ‘Father’ and Cordelia’s eyes lit up. She looked at Alice with a bright smile.

“An idea!” She quickly answered it. “Mr. Lawrence?”

“Ah, Ms. Bell.” The gruff voice of both Sammy and Nancy’s father came from the other side. “Is Nancy, and Sammy for that matter, still at work? I’ve been trying to contact her, and I’ve been getting the runaround from Mr. Drew’s customer service.” Cordelia took a deep breath.

“Mr. Lawrence, you have to promise to hear me out, something happened to both Sammy and Nancy…Mr. Drew did something to both of them and-”

“Miss Bell, I will stop you there.” Cordelia felt a pit turn in her stomach. “You said Joey Drew and that is all I need to know. I will be there within the hour.” Cordelia’s eyes widened in shock.

“Y-Yes of course! I will try to be up there so I can help you get around the park.” She got a grunt in return before the man hung up. Cordelia beamed as Alice raised an eyebrow.

“W-What happened?” Cordelia looked at Alice.

“Father Lawrence is coming to the park, he’ll be able to help us!”

“Father Lawrence...is he Sammy and Nancy’s father?” Cordelia nodded. “Oh! He must be worried…” Alice beamed. “Joey would have to let Nancy go! And unless he had some cloning thing, he’d have to admit what he did to Sammy!” Cordelia nodded in agreement.

“And Father Lawrence is...well, you’ll meet him in a bit…” Alice nodded excitedly, while she definitely would’ve preferred better circumstances, she couldn’t help but be excited see the man who raised both Nancy and Sammy!

.

* * *

 

.

“I honestly expected you to be taller…Considering the pitches Sammy’s always mentioning during our dinners with him.” Bendy went a shade of pink as he looked up at the mountain of a man, as the woman with him chuckled.

“Gerald, be nice,” She said. “Jacob seems to like him.” She gestured to the boy who was timidly looking at Bendy. Gerald looked at his wife with a look of disbelief.

“Mr. Lawrence!” Bendy turned and saw Cordelia walking with Alice, coming over. “Welcome to the park! This is Alice Angel…” Alice’s jaw was dropped as she looked up at the man, earning a chuckle from Mrs. Lawrence. 

“Wow...you’re very tall…” Alice managed out as Jacob walked over to her. “Oh! Hello there! I’m Alice Angel~”

“I’m Jacob Lawrence…” The boy said softly, obviously shy about being at the park, hiding in his mother’s side, who chuckled softly.

“How about you and I go see what’s in the sweet shop?” She said softly before pecking her husband on the cheek. “Good luck sweetheart, see you soon.” The mother and son walked off, and Bendy watched as the man turned to Cordelia and Alice, trying to hide the blush rising on his face. He frowned and crossed his arms; something was definitely going on with the angel and Cordelia and even if Bendy was going to get in trouble with Papa Drew, he was getting to the bottom of this mystery!


	6. Chapter 6

Alice, Cordelia, and Father Lawrence headed for Joey’s office, purpose in their steps. Bendy trailed behind them, still determined to get to the bottom of this. Despite the fact that she now had backup, and very capable backup at that, Cordelia felt herself beginning to shake again. She’d seen what Joey could do and it terrified her. How many others had he used like this? Would she really be able to stop him? She quickly shook her head. No. She couldn’t lose hope now. She had to keep going. For Joshua. 

“How is your brother?” Father Lawrence asked. Cordelia jumped at the question, not quite expecting to be spoken to. 

“He’s doing well.” She tried to compose herself. “He got a job at a factory. He doesn’t love it, but it’s work.”

“How did he react when you told him you’d be working here?”

Cordelia winced at the memory. “It didn’t go over...amazingly.” She said, smiling sheepishly. “He had some rather...choice words to say about Joey when I brought it up.” It was a small wonder Roy hadn’t come to the park and threatened Joey into letting her quit. 

“I’m surprised he allowed you to come.” Father Lawrence nodded slightly. 

“Well, we need the money.” Cordelia shrugged slightly. 

“You have a brother?” Bendy asked, eyes widening.

“Yeah, his name’s Roy.” Cordelia had to force herself to keep smiling despite the situation. “He used to be an actor.”

“Why isn’t he an actor anymore?”

“There was an accident at his workplace.” Cordelie explained. It had gotten easier to tell the story as the years had gone by. Roy had started making up crazy stories to tell to especially curious children. Father Lawrence held his tongue on the matter of the elder Bell’s former career choice. He wasn’t a complete bastard, after all. 

“Oh. Okay.” Bendy frowned. 

“I’d love to meet him someday.” Alice clapped her hands together. “I’m sure he’s very nice!”

“He’s...something.” Cordelia couldn’t help but laugh. “But I’m sure he’d love to meet you too.”

“We’re here.” Father Lawrence announced. The jovial mood quickly faded as they all looked at the door bearing Joey’s name. 

“What’s with the long faces?” Bendy asked. “Y’all look like someone died.”

“Bendy, you might want to wait outside.” Cordelia knelt down, giving him a big smile. “I don’t think this is going to be pretty.”

“No! I want to know what’s going on!” Bendy stamped his foot. “You and Alice are acting weird!” Alice and Cordelia exchanged a look. 

“We think...Joey might have done something to Nancy and Sammy.” Alice said, scuffing her shoes on the pavement. 

“That’s real funny, Al. Now tell me the truth.” Bendy rolled his eyes. Both Alice and Cordelia were silent, their expressions grim. Bendy’s eyes widened. 

“You’re...You’re serious?” He stammered out. “But Papa Drew wouldn’t hurt anyone!”

“Joey Drew is a very dangerous man.” Father Lawrence said. “I’ve met many a man like him in my life, and all of them have the ability to fool everyone they meet.”

“But he wouldn’t...” Bendy said weakly. “He’s not a bad person.” Alice and Cordelia both stood up and entered Joey’s office, Father Lawrence behind them. Joey was sitting at his desk, working on paperwork. He looked up upon hearing the door open and struggled to keep up a smile when he saw who his visitors were. 

“Father Lawrence! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“Where are my children?” Father Lawrence asked, his voice eerily calm. 

“They’re not here at the moment.” Joey folded his hands on his desk. “I sent Nancy home and Sammy left early yesterday.” 

“Mr Drew, I would suggest you not lie to me.” Father Lawrence began to roll up his shirtsleeves. It was in that moment that Joey knew he was well and truly fucked. Father Lawrence was not a man to be trifled with. Joey had heard many a story from the Lawrence siblings about their parents dispensing justice on those who would harm them. Neither Lawrence parent resorted to violence unless they thought it was necessary, and Father Lawrence seemed to have decided now was an appropriate time for it. 

“You were in that room when Nancy was taken.” Cordelia drew herself up to her full height. “Alice and I were both there. We heard you. Where is she?”

“And what have you done to my son?” Father Lawrence asked. Bendy backed up, his head starting to hurt. 

“Ben?” Alice’s voice sounded very far away. The entire room was spinning. Bendy blinked a few times, reeling backwards. 

“Sammy!” Cordelia ran to his side. Father Lawrence turned very slowly back to Joey, whose smile was considerably more strained now. The preacher leaned on Joey’s desk, the wood creaking under his weight. 

“Is there a reason she called the little demon by my son’s name?” Father Lawrence asked, his calm demeanor offset by his white-knuckled grip on Joey’s desk. Joey opened his mouth, but found himself unable to come up with a solution. His usually silver tongue had turned to lead under the threat of violence by someone much bigger than him. 

“He’s falling apart!” Alice said, trying to hold Bendy up. Cordelia screwed up her face and picked Bendy up bridal style. 

“We’re taking him to Murray.” She looked to Father Lawrence. “Do what you want with Mr Drew.” Then she and Alice ran out of the room with the little demon. Father Lawrence let go of Joey’s desk, cracking his knuckles in a rather threatening way. 

“What did you do to my children?”


	7. Chapter 7

...

Murray sighed as he had the ice over his black eye; Susie’s reaction to having Nancy in the cell was not what he was expecting, getting a black eye for grabbing the wrong kind of ice cream and ‘adding to the poor child’s stress’ when Susie demanded ice cream to try and cheer Nancy up. He slumped in his chair as his park phone rang.

“That better not be another restroom issue…” He grumbled as he picked it up. “Hello?”

“Is this Murray Hill?” An unfamiliar gruff voice asked over the phone.

“Uh...yes?”

“Good. This is Gerald Lawrence, father to both Nancy and Samuel.” Murray paled as the man continued. “Ms. Bell and the Alice Angel...lady is coming over and by the time I catch up to them with Mr. Drew, I should be seeing my son and daughter perfectly safe and ready to leave this park.” The man didn’t say ‘or else’, but Murray didn’t need that; he may be worried about Joey’s reaction, but he sure wasn’t going to piss off the town’s preacher, considering the man’s appearance.

“Y-Yes sir….” He said, the man hanging up just as Cordelia came in with a rather melty Bendy. Murray sighed and began to remove his gloves; working for Joey Drew was becoming a very big pain in the ass.

.

* * *

 

.

“Why is everything black? Or grey?” Chris chuckled nervously as Jacob basically interrogated the tattoo artist, who was now off work and waiting with the Lawrence family.

“I wasn’t given a good reason, Jake, but I personally think that Joey’s not as creative as he claims and doesn’t want to give Bendy and ‘em color.” Jacob frowned.

“Well that’s pretty ridiculous…” Mrs. Lawrence chuckled before smiling.

“Ah, there you are.” She said to her husband as he held his daughter and son close to him as they walked towards them, followed by Cordelia and a very disgruntled looking Joey. “I’m sure that Mr. Drew and you had a lovely talk.” Gerald nodded.

“It went well.” He looked at Joey, who couldn’t help but shudder at the man’s stare. “My children will no longer will be working for you, and neither will Ms. Bell Mr. Drew.” Cordelia blinked in surprise as Joey pursed his lips, wanting to argue, but knowing that the man-and his wife-could easily stop him or bend him into a pretzel.

“M-Mr. Lawrence,” Gerald looked at Cordelia with an almost playful smile. 

“Don’t we need a Sunday School assistant dear?” Mr. Lawrence said, looking to his wife, who knew exactly what he was doing.

“Yes we do Gerald, as with someone who would be willing to help play piano for the choir.” She looked at Cordelia. “Of course, if you’re willing Ms. Bell. But of course, we should talk about that later. For now, we better go see how Joshua is doing...perhaps get him some flowers for his hospital room?” With one more death glare, Gerald led his family, along with Cordelia and Chris, out of the park, leaving Joey to figure out how exactly he was going to bring his dreams to life now. He sighed before huffing and shuffled back to his office.

“I will have to do more research I suppose…”


End file.
